Don't call Test Drive Unlimited an "MMO." That was the first thing that was driven home to me when I stopped in for a look at Test Drive Unlimited at a recent Atari pre-E3 event. Eden Studios, the minds behind the V-Rally series as well as Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, are calling the latest in the venerable racing series "M.O.O.R." or "Massively Open Online Racing." In the end, however, it probably doesn't matter what you call it. If you're at all interested in driving a massively overpriced hunk of metal through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world while throwing it in the face of the chumps eating your dust, you'll be interested.
Test Drive Unlimited takes place in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. According to the Eden Studios demonstrator at the event, the Test Drive Unlimited team thought long and hard about where to set the game. They wanted to avoid the usual driving clichés, like the California coastline. Instead they chose Oahu for the variety of interesting driving challenges that had yet to be represented in a driving game. More than a mere representation though, the team has managed to translate reams of topographic and landmark data into an accurate representation of more than 1,000 miles of Oahu's roads, coastlines, mountains, and rugged natural terrain. In fact, one of the most enjoyable parts in my own demonstration was when I got to take a $300,000 Ferrari off-road and through miles of jungle -- something that even now is giving a car executive somewhere in Italy heart palpitations.
Test Drive: Unlimited is a bit more than just a racing simulator, though. As an MMO (or an M.O.O.R.), players will be driving these roads with thousands of other players at the same time on a PC or an Xbox360 (it's unclear at this time whether both platforms will be able to play together). That makes Test Drive: Unlimited more of a "Racing Lifestyle Simulator." Players begin with enough money to purchase a house and one moderately priced car. They can then begin roaming the island in search of challenges. Throughout the island there are static racing challenges that offer a variety of rules, prizes, and entry restrictions. Winning races nets players a certain amount of cash money. Money is then used to upgrade the player's lifestyle with ever bigger and better toys with which to displays one's driving prowess.
Upgrades available include new homes. Multiple houses will be a necessity because the player can only own as many cars as they have garage space for. They can also outfit their on-screen avatar with a variety of custom clothing from brand name designers like Ben Sherman and Mark Ecko. Mostly, though, money will be for cars, cars, and more cars -- along with the occasional motorcycle. The game sports more than 125 licensed vehicles including models from Lamborghini, Ducati, Aston Martin, Mercedes, Saleen, Shelby, and Jaguar. Tuning freaks will also appreciate the ability to add actual aftermarket parts in order to tweak their rides for maximum speed. Even better, if the game doesn't have what the player wants, the team plans to upgrade the game once a month with new downloadable goodies.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this "racing lifestyle simulator" though is that for all the pre-made challenges available in the game, it'll be the players themselves that will provide most of the game's content. The game supports guild -- er -- "team" formation and includes a variety of management tools to help organize them. Teams can also define their own race course challenges using a waypoint-and-map system, set entry fees and class requirements, set up ladders and tournaments, and run their own competitions online. It should be interesting to see what sort of events players come up with, but I'm pulling for a "Sumo competition" where two cars try to push each other off Diamond Head. Test Drive Unlimited is scheduled to say "Aloha" to gamers in September of 2006.
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. In black with tan leather 
